1. Field of the Invention
The invention herein pertains to furniture cushions and a method of making the same and particularly to a laminated cushion construction having a resilient core with an intermediate flexible non-woven fabric layer surrounding the core and covered with an outer woven fabric.
2. Description of the Prior Art and Objectives of the Invention
Manufacturing processes of cushions and related items have for many years employed synthetic polymeric foams such as polyurethane having a density of from one to five pounds per cubic foot to provide the necessary comfort, resiliency and durability required for sofas, chairs and other articles. More recently, cushion laminates have been utilized in which a resilient foam core is wrapped or covered with a protective intermediate layer to which a decorative outer fabric cover is applied. It is conventional to attach the intermediate layer which may consist of a relatively thin non-woven material or otherwise to the foam core by sewing or by the use of various solvent containing adhesives. Sewing of the laminate to the foam core is time consuming, expensive and is difficult to learn due to the different material used and the difference in sizes of the laminates and foam cores. During application of adhesives and during the drying stages, the adhesive solvents are released into the atmosphere, providing potential environmental damage and more recently, violations of certain safety and health laws and regulations. The adhesives employed have maintained the intermediate layer to the resilient core adequately and have prevented movement or slippage between the intermediate layer and polyurethane foam or other polymeric core. Recently, cushion manufacturers have had to take added precautions and sometimes have had to purchase solvent collecting equipment when using adhesives due to new environmental and safety regulations which generally increase production costs and diminish profits.
With the aforesaid disadvantages of conventional cushion construction methods, it is one objective of the present invention to provide a new method of cushion construction which eliminates the need of sewing the laminate to the foam core and of solvent containing adhesives and special solvent evaporation equipment to handle the same.
It is yet another objective of the present invention to provide a cushion construction and method which will tightly adhere a flexible layer to a resilient polymeric foam core without increasing the manufacturer's costs.
It is yet another objective of the present invention to provide a cushion construction and method which employs a mechanical bond to maintain the integrity between an intermediate flexible layer and a resilient inner core as the ends of the flexible layer are frictionally held in slits placed in the resilient core.
Various other objectives and attributes of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art as more details of the invention unfold below.